scavenged; scavenging
1
a(1)
: to remove (dirt, refuse, etc.) from an area
(2)
: to clean away dirt or refuse from : cleanse
scavenge a street
b
: to feed on (carrion or refuse)
2
a
: to remove (burned gases) from the cylinder of an internal combustion engine after a working stroke
b
: to remove (something, such as an undesirable constituent) from a substance or region by chemical or physical means
c
: to clean and purify (molten metal) by taking up foreign elements in chemical union
3
: to salvage from discarded or refuse material
also
: to salvage usable material from
: to work or act as a scavenger
Examples of scavenge in a Sentence
Rats scavenged in the trash.
The bears scavenged the woods for food.
He scavenged the town dump for automobile parts.
Recent Examples on the Web
Oceanic whitetips typically scavenge and feed opportunistically in open waters.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
Co-founder Jason Aramburu half-jokingly likens his future vehicles to the Jawa crawlers from Star Wars—ones that scavenge for stalks and corncobs instead of dead robots.
—Andrew Rosenblum, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024
These textiles use fibers that scavenge electromagnetic energy from the environment.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Dec. 2024
Predation is relatively rare in the hadal zone, with most organisms scavenging on organic matter drifting from upper layers of the ocean (marine snow), or relying on chemosynthetic bacteria for nutrients.
—Jess Thomson, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scavenge 
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Scott Travers, Forbes, 5 Jan. 2025
Co-founder Jason Aramburu half-jokingly likens his future vehicles to the Jawa crawlers from Star Wars—ones that scavenge for stalks and corncobs instead of dead robots.
—Andrew Rosenblum, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024
These textiles use fibers that scavenge electromagnetic energy from the environment.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 Dec. 2024
Predation is relatively rare in the hadal zone, with most organisms scavenging on organic matter drifting from upper layers of the ocean (marine snow), or relying on chemosynthetic bacteria for nutrients.
—Jess Thomson, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for scavenge
Dictionary Entries Near scavenge
Cite this Entry
“Scavenge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scavenge. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
scavenge
verb
scav·enge
ˈskav-ənj 
-inj
scavenged; scavenging
: to collect usable things from what has been discarded
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